Door actuating mechanism for laterally movable and slidable door

ABSTRACT

A laterally movable and slidable door is provided with an actuating mechanism for sequentially unlocking the door with respect to a door opening and then moving the door laterally outwardly whereupon it may be moved in slidable fashion to one side of the door opening. The mechanism includes an improved clutch arrangement which upon selection by the operator will engage a power assist device including a cable and pulley arrangement anchored to the door frame which will upon the actuation of the mechanism move the door sideways in sliding relation with respect to the door opening.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,816,965 Nagy [4 June 18, 1974 DOORACTUATING MECHANISM FOR 3,714,735 2/1973 Owen 49/280 x LATERALLY MOVABLEAND SLIDABLE 3,750,335 8/1973 Marsh 49/220 DOOR Inventor: Ernest J.Nagy, Munster, Ind.

Assigneez Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, 111. Filed: Aug. 20, 1973 Appl.No: 389,931

US. Cl 49/220, 49/281 Int. Cl E05d 15/10 Field of Search 49/220, 2162l9,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner-Kenneth DowneyAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Hilmond O. Vogel ABSTRACT A laterally movableand slidable door is provided with an actuating mechanism forsequentially unlocking the door with respect to a door opening and thenmoving the door laterally outwardly whereupon it may be moved inslidable fashion to one side of the door opening. The mechanism includesan improved clutch arrangement which upon selection by the operator willengage a power assist device including a cable and pulley arrangementanchored to the door frame which will upon the actuation of themechanism move the door sideways in sliding relation with respect to thedoor opening.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJun 1 a 1914 SHEU 2 BF 4 IOI F IG.3

DOOR ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR LATERALLY MOVABLE AND SLIDABLE DOOR Thepresent application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,335 issued Aug. 7,1973, Ser. No. 389,932 filed Aug. 20, 1973, and Ser. No. 389,933 filedAug. 20, 1973, all assigned to the same assignee.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to railway car doors of the plug and sliding typewhich are usually utilized in connection with railway box cars.

2. Description of the Prior Art The type of plug sliding door to whichthe present invention pertains is similar to the structure shown in NagyU.S. Pat. No. 3,653,153 patented Apr. 4, 1972. Patents disclosing powerassist devices for moving doors between positions to one side of arailway box car door opening are as follows:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a prime object of the present inventionto provide an improved actuating mechanism for a plug sliding door whichpermits the door to be either locked or unlocked with respect to a dooropening and then moved laterally relative to said door opening. Further,the invention pertains to the improvement of a cone type clutchingarrangement which is manually operable and shiftable into engagementwith a force multiplying power assist device adapted with the actuatingmechanism to be moved so that the door is easily moved between positionsto one side of the door opening and into the said door opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of aportion of a box car side showing a plug type sliding door disposed in adoor opening;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of a portion of an actuatingmechanism and power assist mechanism for a plug door;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 33of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 44of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 disclosing anotheroperating position of the mechanism.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, a railway car side 10 includes aside wall 11 provided with a rectangular door opening 12. The dooropening 12 is provided with a frame comprising vertical door posts 13connected at their upper ends to a conventional top plate structure 14.The top plate structure 14 includes a top wall 15 and a downwardlyextending wall portion 16. The lower portion of the door opening isprovided with a lower side wall and frame structure 17 which supports atrack 18 immediately above a side sill 19.

A railway car door of the plug and sliding type is designated at 20 andincludes door sheathing 21. The door further is formed of upper framemembers 22 connectedto side frame members 23 and a lower horizontalframe member 25. The door 20 is suitably supported on lower rollerbrackets 26 and 27 which are of conventional construction and areslidingly supported on the track 18. An adjustable swivel structure 28is sup ported on the roller 26 and is suitably connected to the lowerleft end of the door 20 as best shown in FIG. 1. The upper left end ofthe door 20 is provided with an upper swivel bracket 29 which supports aroller 30 ml lable within the top plate structure 14. As best shown inFIG. 1, the right hand side of the door is provided with a rotatablepipe 31 which is conventional in doors of this type. The pipe 3] isprovided at its lower end with a rod extension 32 to which aconventional crank arm 33 is supported and which is suitably connectedto the roller bracket 27. An upper rod extension 34 connected to therotatable pipe 31 is also provided as in conventional fashion with acrank arm 35 in turn having connected thereto a roller 36 also rollablewithin the top plate structure 14. One or more pivot brackets 37suitably connect the pipe 31 to the door 20.

The door 20 is also provided with a horizontal locking bolt 38 which maybe engageable with the frame structure of one of the vertical door posts13 to securely lock the door in closed position. A vertical locking bolt39 also is provided and is adapted to engage the lower side wall andframe structure 17 to further positively secure the door 20 in closedposition relative to the door opening.

A door actuating mechanism is generally designated by the referencecharacter 40 and includes a cylindrical sheet metal housing 41. Thehousing 41 comprises a front plate 42, a rear plate 43, suitablyinterconnected by a circular wall 44. As best shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and6, the housing structure 40 encloses cams 45 and 46. The cams 45 and 46and the mechanism disclosed therein are further more specificallydescribed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,335. The cam 45 isrotatably supported by means of a pivot pin 47 on bearings 48 and 49respectively positioned on the plates 42 and 43 as shown in FIGS. 5 and6. A pivot screw 50 connects one side of the cam 45 to the verticallocking bolt 39. Similarly, a pivot screw 51 connects another portion ofthe cam 45 to the horizontal locking bolt 38. The cam 45 is furtherprovided with a cam slot 52. The cam 46 is pivoted on a pivot pin 53, asbest shown in FIG. 5, which is supported in bearings 54 and 55 providedin the plates 42 and 43. A pivot 56 is connected to one portion of thecam 46 and to a link 57 forming part of an adjustable linkage assemblygenerally designated at 58. The linkage assembly 58 is connected to aclevis bracket 59 by means of a pivot pin 60, the said bracket 59 beingsecured to the rotatable pipe 31 whereupon linear movement of thelinkage assembly 58 the said pipe is rotated, in turn pivoting the crankarms 33 and 35. The cam 46 is also provided with a cam slot 61. A shaft62 is rotatably supported on the plates 42 and 43, as best shown inFIGS. 5 and 6. The

shaft 62 is supported on a bearing 63 which is provided with acylindrical projection 64. The projection 64, in turn, is supported on abearing 65 in turn, secured in an opening 66 in plate 42. The shaft 62is also provided with a transverse bore 67 through which a pin 68extends. A spacer 69 which is mounted on a cylindrical projection 64also includes openings 70 through which the pin 68 extends. The shaftfurther is provided with a threaded extension 71 which is threaded intoa threaded collar 72. A hand wheel 73 includes a hub 74 which also hasvertically aligned bores 75 within which the ends of the pin 68 aredisposed. The hub 74 is also provided with a circumferential flange 76which engages and confines a circumferential flange 77 of the collar 72.A shifting lever 78 is rigidly connected to the collar 72 for rotatingthe same independently and relative to the pin 68 and associatedstructure.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a camming member 79 includes a hub 80which has an internal frustoconical clutching surface 81. The hub 80 isconnected to an arm 82 having a cam element 83 positioned thereon. Thecam element 83 is adapted to sequentially engage the slots 52 and 61 forsequentially operating cams 45 and 46. The hub 80 is free to rotateindependently of the bearing 63 which in turn is connected to the shaft62 by means of the hub 74, spacer 69 and pin 68. The shaft 62 isprovided with enlarged frustoconical clutching faces 84 and 85. The face84 is adapted to be engaged with the conical clutching surface 81 andthe face 85 is adapted to engage the internal frusto-conical clutchingsurface 86. The frustoconical clutching surface 86 is provided within ahub 87. The hub 87 also includes a cylindrical flange portion 89 withinwhich a shaft section 88 of the shaft 62 is journaled. A bearing flange89 is in turn journaled on a bearing 90 suitably supported on the plate43. The hub 87 comprises a part of a sprocket 91 to which a chain 92 isattached.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the chain 92 extends about a sprocket 93 whichis connected to rotate a drum 99 suitably rotated on a shaft 100provided on a bracket structure 101 suitably supported on the sheathing21. The drum 99 and associated structure is enclosed within a housing102 as indicated in FIG. 1. A cable 103 is wound about the drum and inturn extends around a pair of pulleys 104 suitably supported on abracket structure 105 for rotating movement by means of a shaft 106supported on the bracket structure 105. The cable 103 is provided withends sections 107 the same as indicated in FIG. 1 leading to the leftand being suitably connected to an adjustable spring loaded anchoringmember 109 suitably supported on a bracket 110 mounted on the top platestructure 14. The cable 103 is also provided with another end 108 whichas shown in FIG. 1 extends from the pulleys 104 to the right, in turnalso being connected to an adjustable spring loaded anchoring member109, in turn supported on a bracket 110 of the top plate structure 14.

THE OPERATION The door in FIG. 1 is shown in the closed position in theopening of a railway car wherein the bolts 38 and 39 are in lockingengagement with the foor frame. The position of the actuatingmechanisms, as indicated in FIGS. 4 and 5, also shows the mechanismwherein the locking bolts are in the closed position. Assuming now thatthe operator wishes to open the door, he rotates the hand wheel 73 in acounter-clockwise direction. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cammingelement 83 is disposed within the slot 52 of the cam 45. Also, asparticularly shown in FIG. 5, the cone faced clutching face 84 is inengagement with the conical clutching surface 81 of the hub 80 so thatupon counterclockwise rotation of the hand wheel 73 the camming element83 is moved downwardly in the slot 52 whereupon the cam 45 is pivotedabout the pivot 47 in a clockwise direction which moves the locking bolt39 vertically upwardly and the locking bolt 38 horizontally to the leftas shown in FIG. 4 thereby withdrawing the locking bolts from the doorframe. Continued movement of the cam element 83 in a counterclockwisedirection provides for engagement of the same within the slot 61 of thecam 46. The cam 46 is thereupon moved in a clockwise direction movingthe link 57 and linkage mechanism 58 to rotate the pipe 31 in turnmoving the crank arms 35 thereby in conventional fashion moving theright hand side of the door outwardly of the door frame. The door is nowin position to be moved along the track to the right to one side of thedoor opening in conventional fashion.

Because of the weight of the door, the power assist mechanism isprovided so that the operator can move the door very easily to one sideof the door opening. In order to achieve this function, the operator nowmoves the shifting lever 78, from the position shown in FIG. 5 to theposition shown in FIG. 6. By rotating the collar 72 with respect to thethreaded extension 71, the shaft 62 is moved axially to the positionshown in FIG. 6 wherein the clutching face 84 is no longer in clutchingengagement with the clutching surface 81, but instead, the clutchingface 85 now is in clutching engagement with the clutching surface 86, asshown in FIG. 6. The shaft 62 is movable axially by virtue of theclearance provided between the transverse bore 67 and the pin 68. Theoperator now simply moves the hand wheel 73 in a clockwise directionwhereupon the cable 103 by virtue of the winding action of the drum 99causes the door to be moved to the right shortening the section of thecable 108. The drum and cable arrangement, of course, provides the forcemultiplying function so that the door may be easily moved to the desiredposition.

To again place the door in a closing position, the hand wheel is movedin aa counter-clockwise direction thereby moving the door again to theleft adjacent to the door opening. When it is in the proper position,the lever 78 is again moved to the position shown in FIG. 5 wherein theshaft 62 is again moved to the position indicated in FIG. 5 and thereverse operation of the pipe and crank arrangement is effective toplace the door in closed position and the locking bolts then are movedsequentially into locking engagement with the door frame.

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle door movable laterally from a door frame and door openingand slidable to an open position to one side of said opening, a piperotatably connected to said door, crank arms on said pipe connected tosaid door frame to provide for said lateral movement, locking bolt meansslidably connected to said door and movable into and out of lockingrelation relative to said door frame, the improvement comprising;

a door operating means including a shaft rotatably supported on saiddoor,

hand operable means on said shaft for rotating the same,

rotatable actuating means associated with said shaft movably mounted onsaid door,

first linkage means connected to said actuating means and to said pipefor rotating the same in response to said actuating means,

second linkage means connected to said bolt means and to said actuatingmeans for sliding said bolt means,

a mechanism for moving said door to one side of said opening including atension member anchored on said frame on opposite sides of said opening,

a rotatable member connected to said tension member and said doorwhereupon rotation of said rotatable member said door is moved betweenopen and closed positions,

first clutch engeable means on said rotatable memher,

second clutch engageable means on said actuating means,

a clutch element on said shaft, said shaft being shiftable axially,

and second hand operable means connected to said shaft,

said second hand operable means being rotatable independently of saidshaft whereby said clutch element is moved axially and sequentiallybetween engaging positions relative to said first and second clutchengageable means thus sequentially provid ing for rotation of saidrotatable member and said rotatable actuating means.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1,

wherein said second hand operable means includes a second rotatablemember pivotally connected to said shaft.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2,

said second rotatable member being movable in clockwise andcounter-clockwise directions to provide for sequential engagement ofsaid clutch element.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3,

said clutch element having axially spaced cone shaped engaging surfaces,

and said first and second clutch engageable means each including anengageable surface complemental to said cone shaped engaging surfaces.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 4,

said second rotatable member having a threaded bore,

and said shaft including a threaded follower engaged in said threadedbore.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 5,

said follower being fixed against rotation relative to said first handoperable means.

7. The invention in accordance with claim 1,

said rotatable actuating means comprising a first rotatable cam,

a second rotatable cam,

camming means sequentially engageable with said first and secondrotatable cams for rotating the same,

said camming means having said second clutch engageable means providedthereon.

8. The invention in accordance with claim 7,

said first linkage means being connected to one of said cams, and

said second linkage means being connected to the other of said cams.

9. The invention in accordance with claim 8,

said first and second cams being laterally spaced relative to oneanother,

each cam having a camming notch,

and said camming means including a cam element movable into said notchesin sequence during rotation.

10. The invention in accordance with claim 9,

said camming means on said shaft being disposed between said camelements.

1. A vehicle door movable laterally from a door frame and door opening and slidable to an open position to one side of said opening, a pipe rotatably connected to said door, crank arms on said pipe connected to said door frame to provide for said lateral movement, locking bolt means slidably connected to said door and movable into and out of locking relation relative to said door frame, the improvement comprising; a door operating means including a shaft rotatably supported on said door, hand operable means on said shaft for rotating the same, rotatable actuating means associated with said shaft movably mounted on said door, first linkage means connected to said actuating means and to said pipe for rotating the same in response to said actuating means, second linkage means connected to said bolt means and to said actuating means for sliding said bolt means, a mechanism for moving said door to one side of said opening including a tension member anchored on said frame on opposite sides of said opening, a rotatable member connected to said tension member and said door whereupon rotation of said rotatable member said door is moved between open and closed positions, first clutch engeable means on said rotatable member, second clutch engageable means on said actuating means, a clutch element on said shaft, said shaft being shiftable axially, and second hand operable means connected to said shaft, said second hand operable means being rotatable independently of said shaft whereby said clutch element is moved axially and sequentially between engaging positions relative to said first and second clutch engageable means thus sequentially providing for rotation of said rotatable member and said rotatable actuating means.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1, wherein said second hand operable means includes a second rotatable member pivotally connected to said shaft.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 2, said second rotatable member being movable in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions to provide for sequential engagement of said clutch element.
 4. The invention in accordance with claim 3, said clutch element having axially spaced cone shaped engaging surfaces, and said first and second clutch engageable means each including an engageable surface complementAl to said cone shaped engaging surfaces.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 4, said second rotatable member having a threaded bore, and said shaft including a threaded follower engaged in said threaded bore.
 6. The invention in accordance with claim 5, said follower being fixed against rotation relative to said first hand operable means.
 7. The invention in accordance with claim 1, said rotatable actuating means comprising a first rotatable cam, a second rotatable cam, camming means sequentially engageable with said first and second rotatable cams for rotating the same, said camming means having said second clutch engageable means provided thereon.
 8. The invention in accordance with claim 7, said first linkage means being connected to one of said cams, and said second linkage means being connected to the other of said cams.
 9. The invention in accordance with claim 8, said first and second cams being laterally spaced relative to one another, each cam having a camming notch, and said camming means including a cam element movable into said notches in sequence during rotation.
 10. The invention in accordance with claim 9, said camming means on said shaft being disposed between said cam elements. 